We know it today as a seemingly endless agglomeration of buzzy restaurants and cultural attractions. In its day, it was a busy hub of activity where meat and poultry arrived and were summarily butchered, packed, and readied for market. Now as the last of the packers gets ready to say goodbye, another chapter of New York history closes.
Though no formal eviction date has been set by the city, the name Meatpacking District will remain and so will some of the signage as reminders of the neighborhood’s past. The Associated Press interviews the likely last packer standing. He is John Jobbagy, whose grandfather emigrated to New York from Budapest in 1900. His grandson has managed to keep alive the business he founded by supplying high-end restaurants that still want fresh hanging meat.
“I’ll be here when this building closes, when everybody, you know, moves on to something else,” Jobbagy told reporters with the AP. “And I’m glad I was part of it and I didn’t leave before.”
Move Over, Scratch and Sniff
No one I know eats chicken for Christmas dinner. About the closest they get is turkey. But fast food giant KFC doesn’t seem to be able to accept that fact. A few years back, the company’s marketers came up with a “Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger” to prevent family members from burning their fingers when they handled the hot bucket holding their fried Christmas dinner.
This year it’s lickable wrapping paper. Instead of intruding on the meal itself, the elves at KFC have taken on the ritual of unwrapping presents on Christmas morning by making the wrapping paper taste like fried chicken. The limited-edition paper, which is free when you preorder from the KFC Shop(!), reportedly tastes like chicken (or, if you prefer, cranberry sauce or stuffing) when licked.
The paper comes with several warnings:
Please be advised that this is a novelty product and is not intended for human consumption. This product may contain traces of all known allergens. Lickable areas have a protective cover. Peel this off carefully to access the lickable patches. Do not lick any patches where no protective cover is present. Dispose of the wrapping paper after use. We do not advise sharing the lickable areas.
See also…
In Time for Christmas KFC Releases Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger
